Sukhumvit Road runs east for kilometres from the city centre, and the district that shares its name is modern Bangkok at its most cosmopolitan -- a ribbon of shopping malls, international restaurants, craft-beer bars, and high-rise condos served by the elevated BTS Skytrain.
The numbered side streets, or sois, each have their own character. Soi 11 draws a nightlife crowd, the Phrom Phong area around Emporium and EmQuartier is upscale shopping territory, and Thong Lo further east is where moneyed locals go for designer cafes and izakayas. Pockets of older Bangkok survive too, from the Indian and Middle Eastern eateries near Nana to the leafy embassy streets.
For visitors, Sukhumvit makes a comfortable, well-connected base, though it trades the historic atmosphere of the old city for convenience and air-conditioning.